HIV Symptoms

One of the greatest problems when it comes to controlling the spread of "HIV" or "Human Immunodeficiency Virus" which causes "AIDS" or "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome" is the fact that many people who have been infected by the HIV virus are not even aware that they are carrying this virus.

One of the primary reasons for this is that many people do not show any signs of HIV symptoms and those who do often believe that they have a form of influenza which typically disappears on its own after a few weeks.

When someone is exposed to the HIV virus they may exhibit no symptoms at all while others experience symptoms which are common to influenza such as headache, fever, sore throat, fatigue, or symptoms commonly associated with gastrointestinal and respiratory viruses as well.

When someone experiences HIV symptoms these may occur as early as two weeks after being exposed to the virus or sometimes up to as long as three months later. These initial flu like symptoms are what is known as "ARS" or "Acute Retroviral Syndrome" or "Primary HIV Infection" which is the human body's natural reaction to the HIV virus. At this stage of "Primary HIV Infection" the bloodstream is carrying the highest levels of HIV and is the most susceptible of being transmitted to others.

In people who do not exhibit any signs of HIV symptoms initially, what happens often times is that they do not begin to experience symptoms until the virus begins to progress more toward the development of AIDS.

HIV symptoms in some people often act intermittently where the individual may not feel ill for a long period of time and then they become sick again. If you are experiencing any flu like symptoms and have any reason to believe you may have been exposed to the HIV virus, then it is extremely important that you set up an appointment with your physician or clinic to be tested as soon as possible.